Chicago, don't bypass the unemployed!

With unemployment in Chicago at 9.3 percent, it certainly makes sense to hire people who actually need a job. Alderman Ameya Pawar has a smart solution. Pawar proposes a modification of Chicago's Human Rights Ordinance that would prohibit companies from discriminating against applicants whose only fault is being out of a job.

Pawar found his inspiration while reading online job postings that stipulated "unemployed need not apply." Pawar told Fox News that such discrimination is likely to create a "permanent class of unemployed people."

Clearly, many unemployed people have done nothing worse than betting on the wrong company--one that axes jobs rather than looking for other ways to survive an economic downturn. Tell Chicago's board of aldermen that you support Pawar's proposed amendment to the Human Rights Ordinance.

We the undersigned support Alderman Pawar's proposal to ban discrimination against the unemployed. We all know that downsizing is mostly a crap shoot. Sometimes the employee let go is the one making the highest salary. Other times it is the last one hired. To tell the unemployed they "need not apply" is both arrogant and short sighted. An unemployed person could easily be the best candidate for the job. If Chicago employers can't see that, you need to help them by making it illegal to discriminate.